This is not a lifestyle blog.
I don’t usually blog about recipes or how to clean your home or make wreaths from cord blood, roadkill and mason jars (Just in time for Valentine’s Day!) It’s not because I’m too good for that sort of thing. On the contrary, making that wreath consumes me. I’m just not that great at it. Case in point, my gingerbread man cake pops that still haunt my nightmares. Also, pinterest hates me.
(Despite that, I make a sexy pie.)
But I do love to cook. And I’m not awful at it. Although, I’m no gourmet. I am the woman, who, just yesterday, fed her family items from the McDonald’s dollar menu and a bunch of grapes, because it was delicious. Never doubt a double cheeseburger.
But for the past almost eight years (dear Lord, eight years?!) of my marriage, I have been making pizza almost every Friday night. It started when we first got married and our TV was on crates and the only table we had still stank of my brother-in-law’s taxidermy experiments. I wanted to go out. Dave wanted to save money. So, I started my quest to make the perfect pizza.
About three years ago, I made a recipe for a delicious thick crust that we bake in a cast iron skillet and we love it so much, we actually prefer it to ordering out. But I’ve been scouring the internet trying to shake things up a bit. The crust isn’t a great thin crust, and I wanted to try pizzas with more variety in toppings, which works better on a thinner crust. Actually, you know what? Don’t get me started on pizza crust. I’ve actually ready almost every piece of literature about pizza crust and I sound like your PhD friend talking about his theories on the socio-ecological shift in the migration patterns of the Heron. Really, really obnoxious.
While Christmasing in Minneapolis, where my husband hails from and where I spent many a formative year, I had the chance to eat from my favorite Pizza Luce, a restaurant known for their specialty pizza like Shrimp al Pesto and Spanish Chicken. And when we came back to Iowa, I had my mission. Make a Pizza Luce pizza, with the thin yet substantial crust, and conquer my favorite pizza, the garlic mashed potato.
BOOM!
Here is what I did. I made this crust. (Read the complicated directions, it’s worth it. Also, for the purpose of this pizza, I prebaked the pizza on my pizza stone for 3 minutes. I have a pizza stone, because I am so baller.) If that’s not your style, I think Boboli would work. Something thin and pre-baked.
Then, I boiled six potatoes cut into chunks. Boiled them until they fell apart when pierced with a fork. I drained them, added 4 T of butter, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/4 C of sour cream and mashed it all together with my pastry cutter until mashed but still a little chunky. Salt to taste.
I spread the mashed potatoes on the pre-baked pizza. It was a thin layer. On top of that, I sprinkled chopped tomato, feta cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon (WHAT?! I’m pregnant, haters.) I wanted green onions, but I was out and I’m lazy. I thought about caramelizing onions, but also lazy.
You can also add broccoli.
I have since learned that this is not how Pizza Luce makes their pizza (they use red potatoes, also they have two equally delicious versions of their mashed potato pizza). This only means I will be doing it again. Whatever, it was delicious. Dave and I were smashing it all over our bodies. Of course, the toddler disproved, but that girl hates mashed potatoes. I know. She is probably the Devil.
Which is something I’ve suspected for a long time, since she tried to push me down the stairs that one time I was the ambassador’s wife and she rode her trike around our house.
Also, a cursory look at Google informs me that my favorite food site, Iowa Girl Eats, has a version of this recipe from last year. So, you should probably just ignore me and go there.
